10/22/2001 - Baseball
Navy Baseball To Hold Blue-Gold Intrasquad Series

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy baseball team, under second-year head coach Steve Whitmyer, will open its annual Blue and Gold intrasquad series, Saturday, Oct. 20. The seven-game series marks the end of the fall practice session for the midshipmen on the diamond before heading inside for the winter.

Navy returns seven starting position players and three starting pitchers from its 2000 squad that went 21-25-1 and won the Patriot League regular season title.

The Mids will look to their core of 9 seniors and 16 returning letterwinners to lead them into the 2002 campaign. Whitmyer's aggressive style led last year's team to shatter the team record for stolen bases with 112. After the midseason addition of assistant coach Dan Nellum, Navy improved its team-batting average to a final mark of .288.

A strong infield returns with junior Rusty Hearn (.324 batting average, 11 RBI) at first base, senior Jason Guidos (.303, 18 stolen bases) at second base, and junior Jake Miller (.268, four home runs, 21 RBI) at either shortstop or third base. Both starting catchers return for Navy in seniors David Woolsey (.337, 17 runs) and team captain Dominic Nicolini (.283, .982 fielding percentage).

Navy returns all three starting outfielders. Seniors John Cocca (.287, 24 SB), Navy's single-season stolen base leader, and Brian Whitten (.286, 20 SB) return in right field and center field, respectively. Sophomore Craig Candeto (17 runs, 11 SB) started over half the games his rookie season, but plays quarterback with the Navy football team during the fall. Senior utility players Todd McKinney and Trey Hargrove, as well as junior Brad Hager, figure to challenge for playing time in both the outfield and infield.

Pitching coach Chris Murphy and the Navy staff return three starters to its four-man pitching rotation. Juniors Matt Cooney (5-3, 3.63 earned-run average), Matt Foster (5-2, 5.07 ERA), and Rich McDevitt (3-5, 3.99 ERA) anchor a young but experienced staff. Senior Brian Pennell (two saves, 31.2 innings) and sophomore Andy Froistad (2-0, 4.26 ERA) were used mainly in relief last year, but will compete for a spot in the starting rotation.